Apricot Scones (with Devon Cream)

Scones are such a nice treat for brunch or an afternoon tea. They are not difficult to make and you can use different dried fruits and nuts that you like. I love apricot so this recipe calls for dried apricots. Served with the Devon Cream and some apricot preserves or jam and you are in heaven. This Devon Cream (or clotted cream) recipe is so easy and tastes so good. You can use it to top pound cake too. 

Devon Cream

4 oz. mascarpone cheese, room temperature

2 T. confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 c. heavy whipping cream

Scones

2 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1 T. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

½ c. cold butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 c. heavy whipping cream plus 2 tablespoons

½ c. chopped dried apricots

½ c. chopped pecans.

1 tsp. grated orange zest

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Wax paper

Prepare Cream: In mixing bowl, beat mascarpone cheese, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and cream with mixer on medium speed until mixture holds its shape and looks like softly whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate until serving time. Scones: Preheat oven to 400˚F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Set aside. In large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until crumbly and mixture resembles small peas. Add the apricots and pecans. Freeze 5 minutes. In large measuring cup, mix together 1 cup heavy whipping cream, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients; stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix. Turn dough out onto wax paper; gently pat dough into a 7-inch round. Cut round into 8 wedges. Separate wedges and place 2-inches apart on prepared cookie sheet. Brush tops of each wedge with remaining 2 tablespoons cream. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to wire rack. Serve warm with the Devonshire cream and apricot jam.  Makes 8. 

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Almond Biscotti

Biscotti are an Italian favorite. This recipe is my favorite because I love almonds. They are crisp and crunchy. Biscotti are twice-baked to make them extra crisp and dry. Perfect for dunking in a cup of coffee, like I do, or with a glass of wine. How do you eat your Biscotti?

3 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 c. sliced almonds

1 ½ c. granulated sugar

10 T. butter, melted

3 lg. eggs

1 T. vanilla extract

2 T. orange juice

2 tsp. grated orange peel

Egg white

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 1 cookie sheet with parchment paper. Have ready another cookie sheet, unlined.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir in the sliced almonds.  Set aside.  In large mixing bowl, mix the sugar, melted butter, 3 eggs, vanilla extract, orange juice and the grated orange peel on medium speed until blended.  Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until well blended.  Divide the dough in half.  Using floured hands, shape each dough into 14-inch long, 2-1/2-inch wide log.  Transfer logs to the parchment-lined cookie sheet, spacing them  4 to 5 inches apart. With the palm of your hand, flatten logs slightly. Whisk egg white in small bowl until foamy. With pastry brush, brush over top and sides of each log with the beaten egg white.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tops are firm but not hard. Remove from the oven and cool until you can handle the dough without burning your hand (abut 5-10 minutes).    Reduce oven temperature to 325ºF. Transfer logs to cutting board; discard parchment paper. Using a long serrated knife make one straight cut and cut into ½-inch to ¾-inch wide slices. Wipe off blade of knife with wet paper towel every four to five slices to get rid of crumbs or any stickiness.  Arrange slices, cut side down, on the two cookie sheets.Bake 8 minutes. Turn slices over; bake 8 minutes or until they are just beginning to color.  Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.  Makes about 36 biscotti.

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Cream Puffs (with homemade custard filling)

I love cream puffs. They are a little time-consuming but so worth it. This past Christmas I made them for a gathering and, needless to say, they all disappeared. I make mine with a custard filling which is simply scrumptious. I have used this filling to fill the middle of a bundt cake and when sliced people eat the custard first! Of course, if you prefer a sweetened cream filling, that would be delicious too. You can add some chopped strawberries to the cream for an extra treat.

Cream puffs baked and ready to fill

A few helpful hints in preparing cream puffs. To prevent cream puffs from shrinking or turning soft after baking leave them in the oven with the door ajar A high temperature is needed so the dough will rise quickly (leaving a hollow center). Then the oven is turned down so they will crisp. Fill just before serving, or no more than a couple of hours before serving and be sure to cover them. Dusting with the confectioners' sugar, just before serving, keeps the shells crisp.

Puffs

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. granulated sugar

¼ tsp. salt

½ c. (1 stick) butter, cut in to pieces

1 c. water

4 lg. eggs, lightly beaten

Filling

1 c. granulated sugar

4 T. cornstarch

¼ tsp. salt

4 eggs yolks

2 c. milk, scalded

2 T. butter

2 tsp. vanilla extract

 

Filling: In saucepan, mix together sugar, cornstarch, salt and egg yolks. Add milk and butter. Cook over medium heat until thick and smooth and comes to a boil. Add vanilla. Remove from heat and cool. When cool, refrigerate and cover until ready to use. Puffs: Preheat oven to 400 F. In a bowl mix flour, sugar and salt. Place the butter and water in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat and bring to boil, be sure all the butter is melted. Remove from heat and add flour mixture all at one time and stir until combined. Return saucepan to heat and stir constantly until dough comes away from sides of pan and forms a thick ball (about 1-2 minutes). Transfer dough to mixing bowl and with electric mixer beat on low speed about 1 minute. Once the dough is lukewarm start adding the lightly beaten egg yolks, one at a time and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste. Spoon 20-24 mounds on cookie sheets lined with parchment or aluminum foil and place 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven to 350 and bake for another 30-35 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color. Turn the oven off, poke a hole in each puff and with the oven door slightly ajar, let the shells cool for about 45-60 minutes. Slit pastry shells in half and fill with filling. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving. 

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Savory Ham and Cheese Muffins

Moist and savory muffins bursting with melted cheese and ham. These hearty muffins make a great breakfast treat, or serve them with soup or salad for lunch. They are great for kids lunch boxes too! I have many recipes for savory muffins and will be posting more soon. Any special requests? How about Florentine Muffins, Pepperoni Pizza Muffins, Sun-dried Tomato Muffins, just to name a few. Just let me know.

1 onion, finely chopped

2 T. butter

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

½ tsp. garlic powder

2 lg. eggs, lightly beaten

1 c. milk

¼ c. canola oil

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 c. finely chopped fully cooked ham

½ c. shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan or line with 12 muffin paper liners. In a nonstick skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Set aside.  In large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and garlic powder. In another bowl, stir together the eggs, milk, oil and mustard until blended. Add the onion, ham and cheese. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk mixture. Stir just until combined; do not overmix.  Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until well risen and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove tin to wire rack. Cool 5 minutes before removing muffins from cups; finish cooling on rack. Serve warm or cool completely.  Makes 12.

Pistachio Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

I love pistachios so I created this recipe for Pistachio Cupcakes. Instead of a simple white buttercream frosting I decided on a white chocolate frosting. The recipe calls for instant pistachio pudding mix which makes these cupcakes extra moist. You can add a little green food coloring to darken the green color of the batter. If you want to add some chopped pistachios to the batter you can. Just be sure to mix them with the flour mixture so that they do not stick to the bottom. The combination of pistachios with the white chocolate frosting is so yummy.

Cupcakes

½ c. plus 6 T. sifted cake flour

½ c. plus 2 T. all-purpose flour

1 (3.4 oz.) pkg. pistachio instant pudding mix

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 stick butter, softened

1 c. granulated sugar, sifted

1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract

3 egg whites, room temp

½ c. whole milk

White Chocolate Frosting

3 (1 oz) squares white chocolate

¼ c. heavy whipping cream

¾ stick butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 ½ c. sifted confectioners sugar

Garnish: chopped pistachio nuts, optional

 Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Sift together the flours, pudding mix, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg whites in a slow, steady stream beating until well blended. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture by thirds alternating with the milk and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix just enough to blend the batter after each addition. Fill each muffin cup three-quarters full. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove to wire rack. Cool 10 minutes then remove cupcakes from tin to wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Frosting: Microwave chocolate and cream until chocolate is almost melted. Remove from microwave and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool completely. In large mixing bowl, combine the cooled chocolate mixture, butter and vanilla extract with mixer on medium speed until smooth. Reduce mixer to low and gradually add confectioners sugar. Once all sugar is incorporated increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes or until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. 

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And The Winner Is....

And the winner is BJ. A big congratulations to BJ for winning the Sweet Kathleen's Simply Sweet Cookie Cookbook. You will receive an email soon about your prize. Thanks to all who entered. And please come back and visit as we will be having more giveaways and lots of recipes too!

Blueberry Cheesecake

Hello Everyone. I hope you are all having a great day. I just got finished, well almost, cleaning all the yellow pollen off my screened in porch. What a mess. Yellow dust was everywhere. Still a little more to do but I wanted to remind you that if you have not entered my giveaway there is still time. The winner will be chosen tonight and I will post the results. Just click here to enter.

And now on to this recipe for a yummy blueberry cheesecake. It is a slice of pure heaven. Rich, New York style, loaded with calories, and oh-so-good for you. At least I think so! It is a large cheesecake and fit for a crowd. I hope you enjoy it. So without further adieu here is the recipe. Please be sure to follow the instructions exactly and your cheesecake will not, I promise, crack. A water bath is essential for preventing cracks, as well as a slow oven temperature of 300 degrees. Oh, and don't forget to wrap the outside of the pan. If you don't, water could possibly get in to your cheesecake. Yikes, we don't want that. Enjoy!

Crust

1 ½ c. graham cracker crumbs

¼ c. granulated sugar

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

½ tsp. vanilla extract

6 T. butter, melted

Filling

5 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened

1 ½ c. granulated sugar

3 T. all-purpose flour

1 T. vanilla extract

2 tsp. orange extract

1 tsp. lemon extract

5 lg. eggs, room temperature

2 lg. egg yolks, room temperature

½ c. sour cream

Blueberry Topping

½ c. all-fruit blueberry spread

1 T. orange liqueur or orange juice

2 c. fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries, thawed and drained

Preheat oven to 325ºF.  Spray a 10-inch springform pan with nonstick baking spray.  Tightly wrap the outside of the pan with heavy duty aluminum foil, shiny side out, covering the bottom and extending all the way up sides. Crust: Place crust ingredients in a small bowl and stir until combined.  Pat crumbs into bottom of pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300ºF. Filling: In large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and extracts at medium speed until smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Blend in the sour cream. Gently pour the filling into the crust.  Smooth the top. Place the springform pan in a large roasting or baking pan, then place on oven rack. Carefully fill the roasting pan halfway with hot water. Bake for 75-90 minutes or until puffed around edges and center jiggles slightly.  Remove cheesecake from water bath, discard foil and transfer to cake rack. Cool for 15 minutes. With a thin-bladed knife loosen crust from sides of pan and cool for 30 minutes more. Unlatch the clasp and slip off the pan side. Cool for an additional 1 ½ hours.  If cheesecake is not completely cooled place in the refrigerator uncovered and then loosely cover when cool.  Refrigerate at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.  Serves 16. Topping: In microwave or on stovetop melt the blueberry spread and liqueur or orange juice. Remove from heat.  Add the blueberries; toss to coat. Spoon blueberry mixture over top of cooled cheesecake, spreading evenly.  Chill until cold.

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